Brewed By: Founders Brewing Company in Grand Rapids, Michigan
Purchased: 750ml bottle bought at Binny's in IL; 2013
Style/ABV: Fruit/Vegetable Beer, 10.0%
Reported IBUs: ?
Purchased: 750ml bottle bought at Binny's in IL; 2013
Style/ABV: Fruit/Vegetable Beer, 10.0%
Reported IBUs: ?
I feel very entitled about tonight's beer. I was lucky enough to track down a bottle in my distro, and went and picked one up first thing in the morning. It's weird buying beer at the liquor store at 10am...with the other drunks and alcoholics. Not that I have any judgement. Anyway, my sense of entitlement here is that I love Habaneros and spicy foods. I have high expectations for this beer, and the sweet citrus heat from the Habanero should pair magnificently with the mango in this beer. About Founders:
The beer pours into a gold/orange body, and kicks up two fingers of creamy, off-white head. The head soaks up some gold/orange tones. The beer looks to be semi-transparent with a touch of haze, and there's a lot of carbonation streaming upwards in the form of small bubbles. I'm surprised by the head retention, or the two fingers of head I initially got on the pour. In bright light, the beer is much the same, with a hazy golden-orange body. The head seems a bit more white in bright light, with sea foam persistence, and your usual lacing and all that.
As you might guess, there's not a ton of heat on the nose. What you do get on the aroma is HUGE mango. If you like mango, this beer delivers on the aroma. I'm getting mango, peach, maybe some earthy habanero-citrus, tea, sweet tea (peach tea), sugar, and some underlying malt fatness. The malt backing leans towards a cracker or wheat base.
The taste delivers everything as advertised, with zesty/peppery mango up front. The mango proliferates on your tongue and you do get zesty heat up front. But the actual heat/spice really kicks in on the back of the palate. This is pretty straightforward stuff. I mean, there's some shades of mango, peach, and sweet tea in this. As the habanero kicks in I'm getting some peppery citrus, earthy heat, and even a bit of cinnamon spice. The peppery heat makes your mouth tingle in a pleasing way. There's some honey/biscuit/cracker-like density from the malt as well, and this has a welcomed and big body at 10.0%.
Seriously, this beer is not too thick. I always get sad when I crack open a coffee or chocolate Stout/Porter that has a thin body and mouthfeel. This beer is dense with a huge mango character, and lots of peppery habanero. Palate depth is outstanding, with each sip lasting a long time. Complexity is low. The mouthfeel is like medium-full to full-bodied, but is assisted by lively carbonation and peppery heat. It almost feels like Pop Rocks on your tongue. I feel like this is pretty easy to sum up: mango up front; malt sweetness and sudden heat in the middle; big peppery citrus and habanero heat on the back. The beer leans on a reasonably large malt base. The heat grows if you take sips back to back.
This beer is the seventh beer in Founders' Backstage Series. The Mango Magnifico con Calor (with heat) is a high-gravity fruit beer brewed with mango, and Michigan-grown habaneros. The fruit is supposed to be complimented with a hint of heat, adding a layer of complexity. You can read more about the beer here and here.
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| Founders Mango Magnifico |
The beer pours into a gold/orange body, and kicks up two fingers of creamy, off-white head. The head soaks up some gold/orange tones. The beer looks to be semi-transparent with a touch of haze, and there's a lot of carbonation streaming upwards in the form of small bubbles. I'm surprised by the head retention, or the two fingers of head I initially got on the pour. In bright light, the beer is much the same, with a hazy golden-orange body. The head seems a bit more white in bright light, with sea foam persistence, and your usual lacing and all that.
As you might guess, there's not a ton of heat on the nose. What you do get on the aroma is HUGE mango. If you like mango, this beer delivers on the aroma. I'm getting mango, peach, maybe some earthy habanero-citrus, tea, sweet tea (peach tea), sugar, and some underlying malt fatness. The malt backing leans towards a cracker or wheat base.
The taste delivers everything as advertised, with zesty/peppery mango up front. The mango proliferates on your tongue and you do get zesty heat up front. But the actual heat/spice really kicks in on the back of the palate. This is pretty straightforward stuff. I mean, there's some shades of mango, peach, and sweet tea in this. As the habanero kicks in I'm getting some peppery citrus, earthy heat, and even a bit of cinnamon spice. The peppery heat makes your mouth tingle in a pleasing way. There's some honey/biscuit/cracker-like density from the malt as well, and this has a welcomed and big body at 10.0%.
Seriously, this beer is not too thick. I always get sad when I crack open a coffee or chocolate Stout/Porter that has a thin body and mouthfeel. This beer is dense with a huge mango character, and lots of peppery habanero. Palate depth is outstanding, with each sip lasting a long time. Complexity is low. The mouthfeel is like medium-full to full-bodied, but is assisted by lively carbonation and peppery heat. It almost feels like Pop Rocks on your tongue. I feel like this is pretty easy to sum up: mango up front; malt sweetness and sudden heat in the middle; big peppery citrus and habanero heat on the back. The beer leans on a reasonably large malt base. The heat grows if you take sips back to back.
Rating: Above-Average (4.0/5.0 Untappd)
I'm feeling a Decent Above-Average on this. You definitely get a lot of peppery heat in this, and you might even find this to be a bit hot if you don't frequent spicy foods. That said, this beer promises EXACTLY what it advertises. Mango + Habanero. This is one of the better pepper beers I've had, and I really enjoy the huge mango sweetness that you get here. I don't know what I would pair this beer with. I feel like you could go a couple of different directions....pork tacos? Something with chocolate? The big mango, citrus, and pepper heat in this beer would work with chocolate. You might even get away with pairing this beer with plain fried chicken. I think, above all else, this is just a fun beer. I paid 12 or 13 dollars, and I wouldn't pay much more. If you enjoy spicy peppers and beer, grab a bottle to share with a friend and pair this beer with some savory pork tacos or a sweet chocolate-dipped churro.
Random Thought: I missed out on Doom, but to be honest, I didn't try very hard to track a bottle down. I heard that Doom is still sitting on shelves in Michigan. Hell, I heard that the Frangelic Mountain Brown is still sitting on shelves in Michigan. I assume this one will hang around for a while too. They can't all be CBS.
I'm feeling a Decent Above-Average on this. You definitely get a lot of peppery heat in this, and you might even find this to be a bit hot if you don't frequent spicy foods. That said, this beer promises EXACTLY what it advertises. Mango + Habanero. This is one of the better pepper beers I've had, and I really enjoy the huge mango sweetness that you get here. I don't know what I would pair this beer with. I feel like you could go a couple of different directions....pork tacos? Something with chocolate? The big mango, citrus, and pepper heat in this beer would work with chocolate. You might even get away with pairing this beer with plain fried chicken. I think, above all else, this is just a fun beer. I paid 12 or 13 dollars, and I wouldn't pay much more. If you enjoy spicy peppers and beer, grab a bottle to share with a friend and pair this beer with some savory pork tacos or a sweet chocolate-dipped churro.
Random Thought: I missed out on Doom, but to be honest, I didn't try very hard to track a bottle down. I heard that Doom is still sitting on shelves in Michigan. Hell, I heard that the Frangelic Mountain Brown is still sitting on shelves in Michigan. I assume this one will hang around for a while too. They can't all be CBS.
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